Heading toward the playoffs, do the post-trade Nuggets — who are better defensively — have a better chance of advancing than the old Nuggets team, which was an offensive juggernaut but defended only occasionally?

Coach George Karl pondered this question Friday.

“I think what we’re trying to do is play with an aggressiveness on both ends of the court,” Karl said. “Offensively, I’m not saying we’re going to score as many points as we did with Carmelo (Anthony) and Chauncey (Billups), but I’ll probably bet you that we will. I’m not guaranteeing that, I’m not 100 percent sure, but if we play the right way, with as much depth as we have, we’ll figure out how to score points.”

So, George, if the Nuggets can get the points they’ve always had, but the defense is better — is the team better?

“That’s the game plan, that’s the strategy. I think so,” Karl said.

The Nuggets (38-27) still have plenty of hurdles to jump. Following tonight’s home game against Detroit, Denver has a four-game road trip against winning teams. Overall, 10 of the final 17 games are against teams above .500.

But if the Nuggets keep playing defense, they could contend for the fourth seed — or, if anything lower, the fifth seed.

Consider this. The Nuggets lead the NBA in scoring with 107.4 points per game — and are ninth-worst in the league in points allowed with 103.9. But in the eight games since the trade, Denver averaged 106 points per game — and allowed just 94.6, which would be sixth-best in the NBA, if it was the average for the season. Not bad at all.

“We’re taking the easy baskets out, we’re making people have to play against our defense,” Karl said. “And we’re not giving them the transition mistakes. We’re staying away from being tricked into giving up easy baskets. We’re staying solid. And I think we also make more extra-effort plays. We make multiple-effort plays.”

In three of the eight post-trade games (Denver is 6-2), opponents scored 90 or fewer points, something Denver opponents did just seven times in the previous 57 games. And the Nuggets are attacking the glass. Pre-trade, Denver was outrebounded by an average of one board a game. Post-trade? Denver is outrebounding its opponents by 8.3 per game.

Recently, Nuggets guard J.R. Smith summed up why he believes players are more dedicated to defense.

“Everybody feels as though they’re involved, so it gives everyone extra emphasis to work extra hard on defense,” Smith said. “Now there aren’t any excuses. Everybody is getting their touches.”

It’s a fascinating point. Smith acknowledges offensive touches are what fuels a player, and with Melo and Chauncey taking so many of Denver’s shots, other Nuggets didn’t feel as involved.

On Friday, Karl took it a step further, explaining how he decides who plays in the first place.

“My whole thing to the team is, most of my decisions are going to be defensive, so if you give me a defensive focus and a defensive intensity, you’ll get more minutes,” said Karl, who has a 10-man rotation when everyone is healthy. “I’m going to stay away from keeping you on the court just because you’re making some shots. I’ve got a lot of guys who can make shots, and I don’t know who’s going to make shots, but if we play defense, I think we’re going to figure that out. If we don’t play defense, we’ll get back into the game we played before, and I want a change.”

Notebook

Nuggets: Forward Danilo Gallinari (toe) and Arron Afflalo (hamstring) are not expected to play tonight. . . . Karl was complimentary of the energy that guard Gary Forbes provided in his start for Afflalo on Thursday. It’s likely Forbes and forward Wilson Chandler will start again tonight. . . . Nene continues to lead the NBA in shooting percentage (62.9). . . . Before the Carmelo Anthony trade, Denver averaged 12.9 points on the fast break. Since the trade, Denver has averaged 18.5 points off the break, which would be good for second in the NBA (compared to 22nd before the trade).

Pistons: This is Detroit’s lone trip to Denver this season. The Nuggets won in Auburn Hills, 109-100, on Jan. 26. . . . The Pistons have won seven of the past nine games against Denver. . . . Detroit is last in the NBA with 38.5 rebounds per game. . . . Rookie Greg Monroe has averaged 15.8 points and 11.0 rebounds since the all-star break, compared to 7.4 and 6.4 before the break.

Streaky Love helps out

Kevin Love extended the longest double-double streak since 1973-74 to 53 games for the Timberwolves, who snapped an incredible 20-game losing streak to Northwest Division opponents with a victory over the Jazz.

Fine company

With 13 points and 11 assists, Russell Westbrook, left, joined Chris Paul, LeBron James, Anfernee Hardaway and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to reach 4,000 points, 1,500 assists and 1,000 rebounds during their first three years.

Benjamin Hochman was a sports columnist for The Denver Post until August 2015 before leaving for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his hometown newspaper. Hochman previously worked for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for its Hurricane Katrina coverage. Hochman wrote the Katrina-themed book “Fourth and New Orleans,” published in 2007.

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